"We need to understand why this is happening." Kelly said.

We had woken up not even an hour prior to this gathering together. Now that I think of it, none of us had even had breakfast that morning.

Nevertheless, before I knew it I found myself sitting on a couch in Fausto's living room one level below me and Thomas. Brown carpet that made a perfect contrast to the white walls covered the floor. Besides that the room was dotted with a few tan couches, a glass table, and a rug.

As I anticipated the discussion ahead, the sun's light slowly began to shine through the window as it's rays crept above the flat orange rooftops.

"You've said it yourself, Travis. In the two years we've been here nothing has disturbed this town before, but in the past few months everything's been ballistic." She continued. "You and Kario being attacked, Aletta being taken, and all the strange sightings."

Gina walked in and sat down with her routine cup of morning coffee, filling the silence with the clings and clangs of her spoon stirring the sugar and cream into a delicious caffeinated blend.

Kelly opened up our trusty laptop and sat down, crossing her legs. "First let's review what's happened so far. Travis, when you were attacked what exactly did 'Joan' tell you?"

"She said that I had secrets." I said. "Like I was hiding something from her. Then she started talking about how I killed people and that 'They' were gonna kill everyone I care about and make me suffer."

"And you said it was at that point that you lashed out and broke free?"

I scratched my head. "Yeah."

Thomas spoke. "I know It's obvious, but I'm guessing the 'They' she was talking about are the other people that have been appearing here all of a sudden."

"Right," Kelly said. "If it were one person we could just say she's a nut, but it's obvious that plenty of other people are involved in this as well and are targeting us specifically."

"Why us?" Thomas said. "From how it sounds she seems fixated on Travis, with the following him to work and chatting him up."

Kelly ran fingers through her hair. "Not likely, she said that she and 'They' were gonna kill the people he cares about, most likely us. This also brings us into the second attack that we've had happen to someone in our circles; when Kario got attacked and they kidnapped Aletta.

Fausto, you saw Kario before Travis and Thomas saw him. What exactly happened?"

Fausto sat in a loveseat near the window, seemingly drained by the simple recapping of events itself.

"He ran in and just started yelling at me, 'They want to kill them!' 'They are the reason these people are here!' over and over again..."

Gina sprung up from her seat "So you people are the reason Aletta got kidnapped?! I knew something was weird about you! That's why I NEVER trust strangers!"

"Gina! Calm down!" Fausto reached towards her. "I know she was our niece... But that isn't called for, you don't even sound like yourself anymore!" he said.

Gina sat back down, wiping her face with tissues. "It doesn't matter. Aletta is gone. It's enough that her parents were not fit to care for her. God knows where she is or what they could be doing to that poor child...

Kario experienced it firsthand, if he says that these... kids are why we are suffering, then it must be true."

"But why us? What did we do to deserve something like this?" Thomas's face saddened. "These are innocent people. If they're so pissed at us then why don't they just attack us directly? It's just stupid..."

"That's exactly what they tried to do," Kelly interrupted "But luckily Travis got away. Remember, that woman pursued Travis even going as far as chatting him up at work and asking questions about who he was."

I felt the red in my cheeks after she said that, of course I'd let my hormones get the better of me...

"Yeah, but why would they even want to attack us in the first place?" Thomas said.

Kelly opened the window and a small breeze swept across the room.

"I was just getting to that." she said. "When you and Travis saw Kario on that night last week, he told you that these people of the 'Divine Society' would cleanse the earth of us. They believe we've killed people."

"But we never killed..."

Suddenly memories of that day two years ago flashed through my mind. I remembered everything.

"It could be a simple misconception. Remember, people aren't who they seem. We learned that lesson before."

My thoughts shifted to Roscoe and Liza. I remembered how he brought us to Empire City, how he pretended to help us, how he tried to recruit us...

"You mean... Like Roscoe?" I said.

"Yeah, remember what happened? He triggered a terrorist attack, our faces got plastered all over the news even though we didn't do anything..." Kelly said.

"So this is all related to what happened back then?" Thomas said. "They think we hurt all those people and now they wanna 'fix' the problem?"

Kelly stretched. "That's one way to put it."

"But why would they take Aletta?" I said.

"You remember Travis. Aletta and Liza switched hairstyles that day. Liza wore a bun and Aletta wore twin tails for that picnic.

Keep in mind they specifically describe that 'demon' as a girl who wears twintails. Chances are they would've taken Liza if they could recognize her in the dark."

"So they murder girls with twintails?" Thomas grimaced. "The hell type of logic is that? What, did they ban people from doing that now?"

"So it's true." Fausto stood up. "You really are the cause of this."

Thomas and I looked at each other nervously as Kelly stood, shooting a gaze of concern from the other side of the room.

"I don't fully understand why this is happening, but one thing is certain.

Things must change."

A Month Later

Kelly

"Hello, how may I help you?" The woman behind the desk greeted me kindly.

"My name Is Kelly Nicholson," I said. "And I'm here to visit Kario Bastien."

The woman standing behind the counter opened a grey drawer and handed me a visitor's badge.

"Room 322."

"Thank you." I replied.

I walked through the hospital corridors searching for the nearest elevator. It was especially busy that day. Swarming with nurses, doctors, and countless visitors like myself.

All of them were puzzled as to why their loved ones we're suddenly being found hurt and coming home brutally injured.

Moments after the incident with Kario and Aletta, people all over Silona began to be terrorized by the mysterious group of people who claim to be part of a 'Divine Society'.

I decided to take this day off work and visit Kario at the hospital. I felt bad that I wasn't there when everything went down. While Travis was getting attacked and Kario was fending off those freaky idiots, I was at work. Not aware of a single thing until I got off. Even Thomas helped out when I wasn't around.

I can't be absent like that. I have to be there to guide them through times like this, they just aren't equipped to handle a situation like this on their own. They're just so...

Young.

Like I was...

If something happened to them I'd feel guilty whether it's my fault or not. I've been looking out for them for years now, it's a job I've assigned myself. And I promised to never give up.

But for now visiting Kario at the hospital is the best I can do.

I got off of the elevator and walked down the halls, scanning for the numbers printed on my visitor's pass as I avoided the bumps and crying children.

322.

I entered the room.

"Hello?" I peeked in and walked towards the hospital bed. "Kario, it's me Kelly. How's it going?"

"I-it is horrible. The doctors said it, my skull is fractured in four places."

Kario kept shaking as I held his hand in an attempt to comfort him. It was hard to watch, just a month earlier he was working in the bakery, smiling and fully healthy, but now he was bedridden. Staring at a TV with basic cable, eating choke sandwiches.

Lonely and scared.

If that wasn't sad enough, he started tearing up on me.

"I hate being like this... I'm always confused, my head hurts constantly and I can barely even move..."

"Kario... I'm so sorry this happened to you. I swear it'll get better if we just-"

"No it WON'T!"

I jumped at his certain outburst.

"The doctors already told me, I'll never be the same again!"

I felt chills. "... Kario-"

"Do you know what it's like to go through that?! To just have some doctor walk in and say your whole damn life is freaking OVER?!"

He stopped holding back and let himself cry.

"I can barely even understand what I'm saying anymore... Do I even make sense to you?"

It's hard to even describe how I felt at that moment. It's just like...

What the hell?! It's only been a month! They can't wait longer before laying news like this on him?! He's only 15.

He's too young to be depressed like this... Damn...

"Kario don't think like that! I can understand you perfectly."

He looked away.

"Kario, I have no idea what the hell's out there, but I swear I'll find out what it is and I will handle the problem."

At that very moment my ringtone went off. I answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Kelly? Okay listen, I know you took today off but we really need you to come in."

I looked at Kario. "But I-."

"You don't have to deliver any actual pizzas we just REALLY need you to come here and sort something out."

It's a goddamn PIZZA place, what the hell's going on in there?!

I sighed. "...Alright."

I took one last look at Kario.

"Kario, I promise we'll figure this out. There's no way I'd stop until we do."

He ignored my words and tried turning his head to the window before he suddenly let out a howl of pain.

A nurse walked into the room.

"It's okay, I'll take care of him."

I slowly left the room and continued down the hallway.

I want to fix this...

My phone went off again.

"Hey Gina."

I could hear her crying over the phone. "Hi Kelly..."

"...So did the police get any new leads on Carol?"

"NO! Especially no thanks to you! First Aletta and now my own daughter!" Her voice began to break. "All you do is attract trouble. If Fausto never brought you here they'd both still be living healthy normal lives!"

"Gina I'm so sorry about what's been happening. I swear, we didn't mean to cause any of this."

"To hell with that! If I had a gun I'd shoot all of you DEAD! Nothing you say will EVER bring the two of them back!"

I snapped.

"Bitch, if you don't fix your tone. Who in HELL do you think this is?!"

A few nurses stared at me then turned around and ran off, one practically slamming head first into a door before following the rest.

I continued. "Carol left for a college orientation! That college is four hours out of this damn city and she's been missing for three days! We don't even know if she's dead! ANYTHING could've happened. So don't go blaming every bit of unfortunate shit that blows your way on US!"

"Wha-! You're DISGRACEFUL! You're DISGUSTING! You think I ever cared for you damn pests?! I hated it when you hung around my daughter! I don't even know what the hell you're supposed to-."

I hung up on her.

This wasn't right, at all.

Gina was always nice. She was always by our side, she always supported us no matter what.

Now look at her...

After leaving the hospital and a few minutes of walking, Glitzy red letters plastered to the side of a window caught my attention.

Mona's Pizza!

It was my job. I walked inside.

"Hello?"

No response, and all the lights were off.

"Roman, stop screwing with me like that! I was doing something very-."

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Everybody from my job sprung out of nowhere.

It was May 6th. With all the drama it had completely slipped my mind. I was turning fourteen that day.

"Roman! I can't believe you! I thought something was seriously wrong here!"

The short, thick-mustached guy put his hand on my shoulder. "Yep! That's exactly why I talked the way I did on the phone! By the way, you'll be getting a five euro raise from now on."

"Unbelievable..." I felt myself blushing. "I can't believe you guys all came. Especially with what's been going on."

"It's no problem. We're a family remember?" Said my bleach-blonde friend.

"Stervia... Your mom's been in the hospital for weeks..."

Stervia patted me on the back, "Like I said girl. Family." She said. "That isn't the only thing we've done. I think you should step outside."

"Stervia you better not be screwing with me."

I ran outside and gasped in delight. There was a shiny, sleek, red and silver motorcycle outside.

"Is this-?!"

"Yep it's yours." Roman said "No more mopeds, from now on you'll be delivering pizzas on this thing right here."

"How the hell'd you even get it out here so fast?!"

He shrugged his shoulders.

Roman flipped through a notepad. "Speaking of which there's a special delivery in just about an hour or so..."

"For who?!"

"It's for a party. On the edge of town near the city walls. You can get there by going north. Of course this town is literally built on a mountain range so that part of town is up." He said, gesturing to the sky. "That's why to get there you have to put those engines into full throttle!"

At that point I grabbed Roman and squeezed him like a stress ball...

... And accidentally almost suffocated him with my boobs.

I let him go. "Sorry 'bout that."

"I-It's okay" He gasped for air. "H-Here are the keys. Have fun out there!"

I struck a victory pose. "Hell yeah! Let's DO this!"

Stervia whispered, "She's way too excited about this..."

Thomas

*Whirrr!*

"Thomas! You got them Malts ready?!"

"Yeah! Three comin' up!"

"Well get em' out! You got just two hours left, you gotta finish strong!"

I came out of the kitchen with my arms full of trays and crossed off my mental checklist as I served people's desserts.

I feel happy on one end because I like sweet stuff, and I like being around sweet stuff. But I also feel guilty because I know that half the customers here are gonna get diabetes if the same people don't stop coming.

I stepped back into the kitchen and sat the empty trays on the counter beside me, taking in a deep breath. That dense cookie and ice cream smell gets me every time.

"Just in time! The pan cookie is fresh out of the oven."

She slid it towards me.

"Thanks Renae."

She saluted, "No prob."

I loaded more sugar packed concoctions onto the next tray. "Dang, Aldéric's pushing us hard this week." I threw a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of the warm cookie and drizzled it with hot fudge.

It's what The Maltz calls a 'Cast Iron Cookie Sundae'. It's my favorite, but we were serving all kinds of dessert that day.

"He's trying to make sure we earn our paychecks. He hates when people be slacking on the job." She continued. "Remember when he fired like four people on the spot because that family complained about napkins?"

"Yeah," I said. "And when he fires you, you just get straight up embarrassed in front of everyone. Like, he does it on purpose too though..."

"Exactly," Renae sat a shake on the tray. "So stop talking and get that served."

I ran outside and served the dessert to an unassuming guy sitting at a table. Brown hair, brown eyes and a ridiculously dull air about him.

He's the type of guy you'd expect to see restocking aisles in a home improvement store. That doesn't change anything though, my job was to serve with a smile.

"Oh... Did I order that for here?" he said.

"Yeah"

He started to get a real anxious look about himself, looking around and feeling his pockets like that...

"Well..." He hesitated, "Change of plans, can I get a to-go box for this?" he kept turning his head from side to side.

"Sure..."

I took a to-go box from in the kitchen and got right back to him.

"Man, you guys are fast."

"Thanks. You wouldn't believe how hard we try."

"Heh... That's respectable, here's a tip."

He handed me some change and grabbed my hand. He gave me a weird look and stuffed some paper in my hand. Then he just took off.

I opened my hand. There was a five euro bill and a note. I pocketed the euro and read the heading in a whisper.

"From the Divine Society..."

...I gotta go.

"Hey Thomas! What are you doing?! Get back in here!" Aldéric angrily flagged me over.

I walked towards him. My mind was completely blank of any thought except for one.

"I gotta tell Travis."

Alderic turned his nose up at me. "...What?"

Without a second thought I ran.

It was seven, I knew Travis was home.

This couldn't wait until I got off, I couldn't even wait to read it myself. Nothing was gonna stop me from making it home.

I took off dashing through the town, passing by cars and cyclists as people's eyes widened in horror and dove out of my way. As I flew down the streets I felt a strange sensation overtake my body.

I didn't know I could run this fast...

I didn't feel myself get tired. I only felt tired when I let my mind wonder. As long as I had a purpose, a mission, a reason for urgency.

As long as I remembered that note, I wouldn't lose energy.

...What is this?

Travis

"So nobody weird came by today, but I still wanted to get home. I haven't really been having any trouble at all lately..."

Fausto played with his small beard. "I see..."

Suddenly Thomas burst through the door, tirelessly darting back and forth across the room, almost tumbling as he slid to a stop.

"Travis! There's something I gotta tell you!"

"What happened? Were you attacked?!... And why do you keep twitching?!" I said.

"I got this from the society..." He began breathing heavily. "I couldn't even read it, I jus'... I just-."

*SLAM!*

The door suddenly flew open, slamming into the wall as Kelly ran inside.

"HEY!" Fausto shouted. "Stop slamming doors around here! I'm the one paying for this!"

She was in tears. "It's true! We're the problem alright!" She wiped her face. "It's all our freakin' fault these people are dead! We're the reason EVERYBODY is gonna be dead!"

"What do you mean?"

Kelly's voice began breaking. "What just happened... We did this! We did EVERYTHING! We should've just left this town alone!"

"Calm down. You need to tell us so we can understand. What happened out there?" I said.

"Okay..." Kelly took some napkins from her purse and blew her nose. "I'll tell you exactly how it happened. From start to finish."

~~~

A/N

Shit's goin' down... And Thomas can run faster than a car?! What's up with that?!